To describe Malaysian writer Tan Twan Eng's debut novel, The Gift of Rain (2007), as well-received would have been an understatement. The respected trade magazine, Publishers Weekly, called it a "remarkable debut saga of intrigue and akido" set in "a darkly opulent WWII-era Malaya". Penang, where Tan was born in 1972, features in the book, which was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize.

The success of The Gift of Rain and the second novel, The Garden of Evening Mists (2012), affirmed his earlier decision to quit his law career in Kuala Lumpur to write full-time. Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, The Garden of Evening Mists won the Man Asian Literary Prize and the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. A film adaptation – jointly produced by Astro Shaw and HBO Asia, with screenplay by playwright Huzir Sulaiman – is in the works.

Tan is now based in Cape Town, South Africa, though he is currently in Singapore working at Nanyang Technological University as an NTU-NAC Writer in Residence (International) for 2016–2017. He is working on his third novel.

1. What are you reading right now?Of Human Bondage (Somerset Maugham), a semi-autobiographical novel about his life; Beethoven for a Later Age: The Journey of a String Quartet (Edward Dusinberre), about the daily life of a string quartet; The Novel of the Century (David Bellos), which investigates the obstacles Victor Hugo faced while writing Les Misérables.

2. If you were a famous literary character in a novel, play, or poem, who would you be, and why? I'd hate to be a literary character, because the interesting ones are those with tortured, unhappy lives. But if forced to choose, I'd like to be Prince Genji, from Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji. He was good-looking, intelligent, healthy, charming, wealthy, literate, and he had lots and lots of sexual escapades.

3. What is the greatest misconception about you? That I'm easy-going and malleable to other people's demands.

4. Name one living author and one dead author you identify with most, and tell us why. I don't identify with any author; but I admire Kazuo Ishiguro and his writing.

5. Do you believe in writer's block? If so, how do you overcome it? Writing is never easy, and you have to expect to encounter problems along the way while you're working on a novel. It's part of the job. I just go back to the first sentence and start editing – again. Or I go for a walk.

6. What qualities do you admire most in a writer? Elegance, simplicity and clarity of his or her sentences. Humility. Respect for his or her readers' time and intelligence.

7. What is one trait you deplore most in writing or writers? Pretentiousness.

8. Can you recite your favourite line from a literary work or a piece of advice from a writer? Somerset Maugham, when asked about what he valued most in his writing: "Clarity, clarity, clarity."

9. Complete this sentence: Few people know this, but I... love the pop music of the 80s.

10. At the movies, if you have to pick a comedy, a tragedy, or an action thriller to watch, which will you go for, and why? A smart, sharply-written action thriller with minimal CGI. I love watching expertly choreographed, minimally edited – and with no ludicrous wire-work – martial arts fight scenes, enacted by actors with real martial arts training. These scenes are similar to the song-and-dance interludes of a musical. Character is revealed through action. The dynamics of the characters' relationships are always transformed – for better or worse – after a duel or a singing scene.

12. Write a short-short story in three lines that include the following three words: "cello", "longing" and "nightmare". The cellist's nightmare began after he started having unrequited feelings for his musical instrument. Every night in his dreams, he kept hearing himself singing with lustful longing, "Cello, is it me you're looking for?"

13. What object is indispensable to you when you write? My laptop.

14. What is the best time of the day for writing? From 9am till 1pm.

15. If you had a last supper, which three literary figures, real or fictional, would you invite to the soiree, and why? Somerset Maugham, because he had known everyone and their secrets, and would probably love to gossip about them; Salman Rushdie, because I'm a big fan; and Jesus, because he'd probably have some good tips or suggestions, and I should better start networking and making friends in high places for wherever I'd be going after that supper's over.

16. As a Malaysian writer living outside of Malaysia, you've received international acclaim for your Malaysia-inspired novels. How will Malaysia continue to haunt your future work? It will always continue to haunt my work, because I will always be Malaysian; its history, language, fusion of cultures will influence my work in some obvious or subterranean way.

17. What would you write on your own tombstone? "Please Take a Number and Wait Your Turn. (It Won't Be Long, I Promise.)"